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class="prefix prefixSilver">Discussion Vixen 30MM/50MM 2" LVW's

Discussion in 'Eyepieces, Barlows, and Filters' started by Diogenes, Oct 22, 2015.

Vixen 30MM/50MM 2" LVW's

Started by Diogenes on Oct 22, 2015 at 10:09 AM

4 Replies 2764 Views 0 Likes

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  1. Diogenes

    Diogenes Active Member

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    Diogenes, Oct 22, 2015
    #1
    Out of curiosity, does anyone know why the 2" 30MM and 50MM LVW eyepieces look so radically different from the other members of the LVW line (including the 2" 42MM Eyepiece), as well as the big price differential?

    I have to imagine that its due to maybe a different design or something, it doesn't make any sense to have your 2" EP's cost as much as your 1.25", nor is there reason to have tooling and machinery for an entirely different body for EP's along the same line. I haven't been able to find any info on this - I've liked the LVW's I've looked through in the shorter focal lengths, and was curious about how they held up at longer focal lengths.
     
  2. Dave

    Dave New Member

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    Dave, Oct 23, 2015
    #2
    Well, likely because they are a different optical design. I don't recall the specifics but perhaps others will chime in with the details.
     
  3. Dave In Vermont

    Dave In Vermont Well-Known Member

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    Dave In Vermont, Feb 21, 2016
    #3
    I don't have any data from end-users of this Vixen offering. I usually regard Vixen EP's as being quite good to excellent though. But at $269.00, I'm unable to play guinea-pig for one at present. I did, however, haul in a different 50mm in 2" format, and as the Monsoon Gods heard of my plans - it's been overcast since. But I can offer a bit of info anyways:

    Gary Russell in Arizona runs Russell Optics & Machine and makes a series of eyepieces that simply aren't available elsewhere. Fascinating stuff! I pulled-the-trigger on a 50mm 2" Super Plossl he offers. It has an eye-relief of about 30mm and the FOV looks like that of a Plossl - around 45° give-or-take. Best I can do is offer a few images, next to a TeleVue® 24mm Panoptic for scale:

    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]

    Total cost with shipping: $72.00

    Available from here - worth looking at - wild stuff!

    http://russell-optics.com/index.html

    Enjoy!

    Dave
     

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  4. Diogenes

    Diogenes Active Member

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    Diogenes, Feb 23, 2016
    #4
    Interesting - I'm curious how the 4 element Konig design holds up in faster scopes, I'm finding my Masuyama/Masuyama clones hold up really well in an F/4. My el-cheapo widefields not so much.
     
  5. Don Pensack

    Don Pensack Vendor

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    Don Pensack, Feb 25, 2016
    #5
    Konig designed over 38 different eyepieces--there is not just one design called "Konig".
    Most are designed for f/8 and longer, though some of the designs work OK at f/5-6.
    As for the Vixen NLVW 30mm:
    It is part of the LVW line, but slightly different in internal design. The N stands for New.

    5 elements instead of the 6-8 elements in the LVW lengths from 22mm down and it has a little more eye relief.

    There's a 42mm as well, but that goes back up to 7 elements.

    In my dob, with Paracorr, it seemed pretty good, though with a fair amount of residual edge of field astigmatism.

    Due to its element count, it's light--about the same as the GSO eyepieces of similar size.

    The entire lens assembly is contained in a small cylinder that unscrews from the top of the barrel.

    This eyepiece is not marked with country of origin, and might be Chinese, given the similarity in coloration to the other Chinese Vixens, but the finish is better than anything I've seen from PRC and the cost is definitely more like a Japanese piece.

    Very nicely blackened internally, and the inside is black as a tomb at all angles.

    The top lens is well-recessed, so effective eye relief is more like 13mm-14mm than the 22.4mm claimed--not glasses compatible.

    Really good coatings.

    Judging from lens diameters and concave surfaces, it appears to be an Erfle or at least very similar to one.

    I didn't notice a lot of chromatic aberration, so possibly modified.
     
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